


Tales from the Hunt Tower

by Zeroan



Series: RWBY Superhero Universe [9]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Companion Piece, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2019-10-17 22:24:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17569046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zeroan/pseuds/Zeroan
Summary: Ruby and the Hunt can't always be out there saving the world. Sometimes, all they can do is stay in their cozy little tower in the heights of Vale and relax. Because that's ALL they do up there. Relax. No shenanigans allowed. Nope. (Companion piece to Phase 2 of the RWBY Superhero Universe/RSU)





	1. That time Ruby had poor impulse control

**Author's Note:**

> This is the companion-piece that I teased so long ago at the end of Ruby Rose: Scattered Petals. A few things: these will be unrelated chapters with little to no impact to the main stories; chapters of this won't be as frequent, the main stories will always be the priority; no new characters (one obvious exception, you'll see). As for reading order, if you're caught up to the newest main story, you're fine to read everything here. If not, there's going to be a disclaimer at the beginning of every chapter indicating when that chapter takes place in the timeline (no pinpoint accuracy, mind you), so you can read them as you progress through the main stories.
> 
> Is that all? Yep. Seems to be all. Boy, nothing like a quick little infodump to start off a FUN STORY. Hope you enjoy!

**TALES FROM THE HUNT TOWER**

"That time Ruby had poor impulse control"

 **Setting:** after _Ruby Rose: Scattered Petals_.

* * *

"Man, I'm beat." Yang plopped down on the living room couch. "I think I'm gonna sleep for a week now."

Jaune walked past her towards the other couch, his feet dragging on the ground and arms hanging limp on his sides. He was so tired, he didn't even walk around the couch to lie down on it – he just hit his waist against the side of it and let himself fall face-first on it.

"That's a great idea," he said, voice muffled. "You mind if I join you?"

"As long as you stay away from my bed, we're good," Yang answered, her eyes already closing.

"Thanks. Not what I meant, but clear communication is always – always… appreciated…"

Jaune became increasingly harder to hear as his voice got lower and his words started to jumble together, until eventually he was just mumbling complete nonsense. And then he wasn't speaking at all.

Yang opened one eye to check on him and realized he had fallen asleep mid-sentence. She got up, grinning to herself as she imagined all the things she could do to him in his vulnerable state. Ruby had a bunch of colorful markers in her room, didn't she? And she was pretty sure they still had some leftover pie from last week. Oh, so many terrible, terrible ideas…

In the end, she decided to just get a pillow and put it under his head so he could get some better sleep. Just because he had fallen asleep on the couch didn't mean it was comfortable. Though of course, she wasn't doing that purely out of the kindness of her heart… she was just that tired that even this perfect opportunity for a prank was too much energy to spend.

Man, did they have a demanding job.

Yang rubbed her eyes and started limping back to her couch, intending to follow Jaune's example and just crash there even if her room was just some twenty steps away. But just as she lied down and closed her eyes, the beep of the Tower's elevator stopping on their floor and its doors opening snapped her back to attention.

"-and Yang just went _kablam!_ and punched the Ursa into the air and I was like _kashing!_ and sliced it clean in half as I flied by, it was perfect timing, we didn't even have to say anything to each other!"

Ruby walked out of the elevator, bouncing restlessly on the balls of her feet. She was followed a second later by a much less animated Pyrrha, though she still wore a vaguely interested smile as she listened to Ruby go on and on about their last hunt.

"Ooh, but you know what was even more awesome than that?" Ruby turned on Pyrrha, her lips stretching into an ear-to-ear smile. "That time when I was fighting off a bunch of Grimm at once, and I was cut off from the rest of you guys and I was like, _gosh darnit, I'm gonna have to really work to get out of this jam_ , but then _bam bam bam!_ , you showed up outta nowhere and covered me with your sniper, it was sooo cool!"

Pyrrha's smile slowly faded as she stared silently at Ruby, confusion evident in her eyes.

"You do remember that, don't you, Pyrrha?" Ruby asked. "I was on the ground, and you were on top of a house? That's how you had a clear shot at the Grimm. And then one of them tried to sneak up on you but I saw them first and warned you…"

"Oh, right. I remember that," Pyrrha said, blinking a couple times. "Sorry. My mind got a little lost just now. It's probably due to how long we were out on the field." She paused. "You know, it was a _long_ time for _anyone_ to be away from home."

"Yeah! The longest since this all began, right?!" Ruby said eagerly. "I wonder when we'll get to do this again? I can't wait! Anyway, you wanna teach me how to use a sniper?"

"Hmm? Oh. I promised you, didn't I?" Pyrrha closed her eyes for a moment. "Maybe later?"

Ruby shrugged and hopped over to the living room, failing to notice the sigh of relief that Pyrrha released behind her.

"Alright!" Ruby exclaimed. "Team bonding time! Now that we are all back home, what do you guys wanna- Yang, what are you doing?"

"Trying to catch some shut-eye after killing Grimm for a week straight?" Yang muttered, eyes closed.

"But… but… team bonding time," Ruby said. "I thought we'd all agreed to this."

"That was before my body started to ache in ways I never knew were possible." Yang winced as her leg gave a little involuntary jump. "Yup. That's a new one. Ouch."

"But I'm just… I'm still so pumped up!" Ruby frowned. "I get that you guys are tired – uh, especially Jaune, it looks like – so it's okay if you wanna rest a while. But I don't work like that. I'm more like a… a huge energy balloon that keeps absorbing more energy and gets even hugger until finally it reaches a breaking point and explodes! Then I sleep. A lot."

"That doesn't seem healthy," Pyrrha noted quietly.

"Look, Ruby, if you wanna do your thing, then go ahead," Yang said. "This isn't school, nobody's gonna punish you for going off on your own to vandalize the walls of the girls' bathroom because that skank Veronica stole your date for the Winter ball even though you waited a whole month without asking him out and now you need some outlet for your boundless rage."

"Yang… Uhm…"

"I know, Pyrrha. Not healthy either. But it felt good at least. Freakin' Veronica with her purple lip gloss and perfect wavy hair."

Ruby crossed her arms. "Well, I guess I could go out and find something to do. It'll be fun. All by myself." She gave Yang an accusing look. " _Alone_."

"Yup. Have fun, kiddo." Yang rolled over on the sofa and hid her head under a pillow.

Ruby sighed and looked to Pyrrha for help, but the older Huntress just gave her a little smile and a shrug before leaving for her room.

"This isn't a problem. I can have fun on my own," Ruby whispered to herself. "Yup. Already having fun… Yay…"

* * *

Normally, Ruby didn't have any problem being alone. Heck, that was how she'd survived most of her school years. Being around people had always felt harder than just being by herself. And it wasn't like she was ever bored. She knew what she liked to do, whether that was playing videogames or tinkering with projects or reading books, and she always found new ways to expand those interests.

Those were all fine ways to spend her time, and it wasn't like she'd entirely abandoned them since she'd moved to Vale, but she'd made a promise to herself then. If she was going to be living with three of her closest friends, even if one of them was her sister, then she wasn't going to spend all her days living in a shell.

Vale was a time to expand her horizons. It was a time to focus on bettering herself, and the way she'd found to do that was by focusing on her friends – her team. But if they didn't need her now – or, if she was being completely honest with herself, they didn't even _want_ her – then what was she supposed to do?

Ruby only knew one thing. If she allowed herself to fall back into the person she'd been in school, even for a day, then it would be immensely difficult to break out again.

Maybe there was something she could do for Yang, Jaune and Pyrrha, even if they weren't exactly _with_ her. That seemed like a good starting point! A team leader always looks out for her underlings. Or teammates.

Whatever they preferred.

* * *

"I think I'll take the Super Mega Mixed Double Rainbow Special, with black and white chocolate flakes on top," Ruby said. "Four of them, please!"

The ice cream vendor stared wordlessly at her for a moment, eyes going up and down her considerably small height, before shrugging and getting to work on her order. "This might take a few minutes. How about you take a walk around the mall in the meanwhile, miss?"

"Alrighty!" Ruby said. "Thanks, man! Be back in a jiffy!"

She made twin finger-guns at him, which only made him more incredulous. Realizing how awkward the situation had become, Ruby did the only sensible thing and slowly backed away from the counter, never dropping the finger-guns. Once she was out the door, she spun around and flashed him a smile, then all but dove out of his view.

"Flawless recovery," she said smugly. "Social butterfly Ruby Rose strikes again."

She cleared her throat and walked away, choosing to take the vendor's advice and look around the mall for a while, if only to kill some time before her order was done. It was a good thing she'd brought some of Yang's patented _disguise shades_ with her when she'd left the Tower, or else everyone would be recognizing her and she wouldn't be able to get anywhere for hours.

The shades were a little too big for her head, though. Maybe that was why that the ice cream guy had looked at her so weird. It could only be that – her behavior her perfectly adequate for public settings, after all.

Clothes store. Boring.

Make-up store. More boring.

Electronics store. Kinda interesting, might be worth a look later.

Larger clothes store. Even more boring.

Hybrid clothes and make-up store. She was rolling in her grave, because she'd died of boredom.

Pet store.

"I shouldn't."

Ruby obeyed the unspoken law of human behavior and entered the pet store.

* * *

"Guys! Guess what I got us!"

Yang groaned and sat up on the couch, focusing all her being on holding back the nasty remarks that came to her as Ruby's shriek reached her very soul.

Goddamn, she just wanted to sleep.

"What is it, Ruby?" she mumbled. "Is it a new scythe part? No? Chicken nuggets?" She rubbed her belly. "I might actually like that."

"Even better!" Ruby somersaulted over the couch and landed in front of Yang. "Look at him!"

Ruby thrust her hands towards Yang, revealing… a dog. A partly-black, partly-white, corgi. It blinked at Yang a couple times, his tongue lolling out of its mouth, before barking and taking a lick at her nose.

"Ew!" Yang leaned away from the attacking tongue. "Ruby, what the-"

" _GRIMM ATTACK!_ "

Jaune jumped four feet off his respective couch, before landing on his feet haphazardly, two fists raised as if he was about to enter a bar brawl.

"Grimm attack on the living room!" he yelled. "Mom – I mean, Pyrrha! Help!"

Ruby and Yang rounded on him, silent as the wind. Even the dog had lost all interest on any noses and was only staring sharply at him now.

"What's going on?" Pyrrha came running into the living room, holding her hand out behind her. Her shield came flying out of her room a moment later, but she froze midway through attaching it to her arm. "Is that… a dog?"

"Yup!" Ruby said, thrusting the dog in Pyrrha's direction. "Meet Zwei, our new best friend! Say hello to Pyrrha, Zwei!"

Zwei barked at Pyrrha and started to waggle his tongue at the empty air between them.

"Oh. I see. Hi, Zwei…" Pyrrha waved awkwardly at the dog, which only made him more furious in his attempts to bypass the laws of physic and lick her from a distance.

"Ruby, you got yourself a dog?" Yang asked incredulously. "How? When? _Why_?"

"I got him just now, from a pet shop. I was going to get ice cream for all of us…" Ruby stopped. "Oh crap, I forgot the ice cream. Uh, anyway! I was _going to_ bring you all the best ice cream ever, but I got sidetracked by this little cutie here!"

She turned Zwei towards her and touched her nose to his. Notably, Zwei didn't even try to lick her, he seemed content enough to just enjoy the moment. Perhaps for him the joy was not in the licking, but in the struggle for it.

"So you got distracted by a cute dog and decided to buy him, just like that?" Jaune asked.

"I didn't buy him. There was a whole litter being sold, but Zwei was the only one up for adoption, because he's way too rowdy," Ruby said. "He bit me five times on the way here!"

As if to demonstrate, Zwei dug his tiny teeth into her shoulder. Ruby giggled and patted him on the back.

"Thank gosh I'm a superhero, or else I'd be bawling my eyes out right now!"

"Ruby, I'm glad you're happy, but…" Yang said. "Don't you think this is a little, uhm… How do I say this. A terrible decision…?"

"What! Zwei is a great decision! He's the best decision!" Ruby shouted.

"I think what Yang is trying to say is, while Zwei is very adorable, living here might not be very good for him," Pyrrha said patiently. "Think about how often we're out because of our job. Who's gonna feed him while we are gone?"

"We could ask the Beacon guys downstairs!" Ruby said. "They already fly us anywhere whenever we ask them. What's a little dog-sitting compared to that?"

"Ruby, that's part of their jobs. Zwei, as far as we know, is not going to be saving the world anytime soon, so giving him unconditional help is not in their job description," Yang said.

"Well, he can feed himself, then! He's a very smart boy, I'll show you." Ruby put Zwei on the ground. "Sit, Zwei!"

Zwei headbutted her foot, then ran a lap around the room and bit Jaune's ankle.

Yang snorted. "Maybe he's too smart for his own good."

"Look. If he can't stay here while we're out, then we'll just take him with us on missions!" Ruby declared. "That should be fine! Beacon has Grimm-hunting dogs. Right, Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha looked away, rubbing her arms.

"I'm sorry, Ruby, I don't think there's a way this works out," Yang said, giving her a kind smile.

"Jaune?" Ruby gulped. "You're with me on this, right?"

"I don't know, Ruby. It seems like a lot of work," Jaune said. "You three can keep up the discussion, I'm just glad nobody realized I called Pyrrha Mom – ah crap did I just-"

"You know what? Whatever!" Ruby exclaimed, clenching her fists. "You guys don't wanna help? Fine! Continue doing your things that are _so important_ like _resting your minds and bodies after risking your lives a dozen times in a row_! Meanwhile, I'll be doing my own thing, working my butt off to give Zwei a good home!"

She picked up Zwei and stormed off to her room, only to return a moment later to shake her finger in front of Yang's face.

"By the way, Jonathan was way better off with Veronica than with you, and it wasn't just because of her lip gloss!"

Yang gasped indignantly, while Ruby _hmphed_ and stormed off again, for good this time.

"…We should get these two a therapist," Pyrrha muttered.

* * *

"Alright, Zwei! Let's do this again. Get the ball!"

Ruby counted from three out loud, then tossed the tennis ball towards the ceiling of her room. It stopped just short of hitting it, then plummeted fast. Zwei rose onto his hind legs, took a few clumsy steps backwards, and caught the ball with his mouth. He fell on his back, then rolled towards Ruby and dropped the ball on her lap.

"You did it again! Such a good boy!" Ruby clapped, then reached for her nightstand and took out a treat. "Here, for a good performance."

Zwei ate the treat off her hand and cooed happily. He lied down on his stomach and rested his chin on her foot, eyes staring up at her eagerly.

"See, I knew you were smart. It just takes a bit of coaxing," Ruby said. "But playing's one thing. We gotta teach you important life skills now, like feeding yourself and not jumping out of a window while nobody's watching." She smiled. "Don't worry if you're bad at that one at first, it took me a while to get it myself."

Ruby stood up and opened her closet, revealing the three large bags of dog food that were now fighting for territory with her clothes. She had moved everything Zwei-related to her room and kept it there for the three days he'd been living in the Tower. If no one else wanted him there, then so be it, she'd shoulder all the responsibility, and nobody had to see it.

"Okay, Zwei. This here is food. You know that well already, don't you?" Ruby asked, and Zwei barked happily in response. "Yup. But here's the important part: you can't just eat whenever you feel like it, or else you'll get sick! _Bad_ sick. So you've gotta pace yourself. One bowl in the morning, one bowl in the afternoon."

She filled his bowl with food and put it on the ground, but pointed a finger at him, telling him to stay put. Zwei glared at her, but obeyed, his tiny tail bouncing on the ground.

Ruby then took a wall clock from her nightstand. It was the one they kept in the living room, but she'd stolen it today while everyone was still asleep. They had all been rightfully confused to find it gone, but Ruby had feigned ignorance, _for revenge_.

Yeah, she was being a little petty, whatever.

"This is the clock, Zwei. It tells us the time to eat!" Ruby said. She changed the hour hand so it was on 10 a.m. and showed it to him. "This is lunch time. Eat, boy!"

Zwei's eyes straightened, as if he suspected some trickery was afoot. Carefully, he inched towards the food, then took one meager bite. He looked at her and Ruby nodded encouragingly, and he started to eat without reserve.

"Okay, okay! Good enough!" Ruby pulled him away from the bowl and gave him a treat. "Now here's the time for dinner!"

Ruby started to change the clock again, but midway through it, she started to feel something beneath her. Eventually, she realized the floor was shaking – the walls too. Ever so subtly, the whole Tower was shaking.

Suddenly, it intensified, making her bed and nightstand rock and slam against the wall. Ruby called for Zwei, but the loud noise of an engine overpowered her voice. She reached forward to catch him, but Zwei slipped between her fingers and ran under her bed, pressing himself against a corner and whining like mad, his eyes wide open in panic.

After a minute had passed, the noise stopped, as did the shaking, but Zwei continued to whine.

"H-hey, boy. It's okay!" Ruby said, lying down next to the bed. "That was just a Beacon jet taking off! They don't do that often, it's mostly for emergencies. Come here, it's over now!"

Zwei stopped whining, but didn't move from his spot at the corner. Ruby stretched her arm under the bed and grabbed him by the back of his neck, then gently dragged him out into the open. As soon as he was out, she lifted him and put him on her lap, letting him rest against her chest. He was shaking, of course, and she could feel his little heart beating at double speed.

"Ruby, everything alright there?" Yang called on the other side of the door. "Is Zwei okay?"

"He's okay!" Ruby yelled. "Just leave us alone!"

 _He's not okay_.

Ruby looked at Zwei, starting to tremble herself now. How could she be so stupid, bringing him to a place like this? And even if it weren't for the jets scaring him, did she really expect him to feed himself properly using a _clock_? And that was just the tip of the iceberg. What if he got sick while nobody was there, or he played with their weapons and got hurt, or someone bad came and…

"I'm sorry, boy." Ruby pressed her forehead against him. "I don't think this is gonna work out."

Zwei whined softly against her chest.

* * *

"I'm telling you, it was a slip of the tongue," Jaune said stubbornly. "That was it. An honest mistake. Have you never called one your teachers Dad or something embarrassing like that?"

"Okay, yeah, I might have done that once or twice," Yang conceded. "The difference being they were, you know, my Dad's age. Not mine."

"But Pyrrha's older than me," Jaune said.

"It's true," Pyrrha said. "My birthday is June 18th. His is September 3th." She smiled. "I just happened to remember that right now!"

Jaune gestured graciously at her. "Thank you, Pyrrha!"

"You two deserve each other."

A soft creaking of the floor alerted them to someone else in the living room. Yang looked over her shoulder and saw Ruby stopped like a statue on the way to the elevator, a large backpack on her pack and a bundle of fur in her arms.

"Ruby? Where are you going?" Yang asked. "And is that Zwei?"

Ruby looked down remorsefully and nodded. "I'm taking him back to the pet store."

"What! No, you're not!"

Yang jumped to her feet and marched towards Ruby, trying to take Zwei out of her arms, but Ruby turned away and kept the dog out of her reach.

"Stop it, Yang! You were the first one to say this wasn't gonna work out, and congratulations, you were right!" Ruby said. "I'm gonna do the right thing now, and you can't stop me."

"Not if it's up to me, you won't!" Yang made to grab her, but Ruby ducked under her arms and ran towards the elevator with Zwei in one arm, looking like he was having the time of his life.

"Hah! You'll never catch me, suckers!" Ruby shouted, mashing the elevator button to call it to their level.

Five seconds passed. Twenty. Forty. A whole minute. Ruby gave up on pressing the button.

"Okay, what's going on here-" Ruby gasped. "Pyrrha!"

Pyrrha put her glowing hands behind her back and smiled apologetically. "We don't need to catch you. We just need you to see reason."

"This is unacceptable! I am your team leader and I demand to be treated accordingly!" Ruby said, putting her foot down.

Zwei barked for moral support.

"Ruby, listen. We know you're upset, but we just wanna talk," Jaune said. "We heard what happened with Zwei earlier, with the jet and all that. He must have been really scared."

"He almost had a heart attack!" Ruby corrected angrily.

"Yeah. But you calmed him down, right? He should be fine next time it happens, we just have to be there for him," Yang said.

"And about the food problem," Pyrrha said. "We've been doing some researching, and there are a few solutions to that. It might take a while to decide what's best, but that should be a decision we can make together easily."

"But that's… It's not that simple," Ruby said. "There's a bunch more stuff we gotta look out for. I'm not sure we can handle all of it."

"Sure we can, as a team. If we can save the world from calamity, we can take care of one air-licking corgi," Yang said. "Just don't expect me to clean up his poop. I'm strictly the cool aunt." She looked at Pyrrha. "And you're the mom, obviously."

"Goddamnit, Yang," Jaune groaned.

"Guys… I really, really appreciate this. You're the best team ever!" Ruby said. "Here, Zwei! Be free!"

She dropped Zwei on the ground, and the four of them watched him for a moment. His eyes scanned the area around him, waiting for any threats to make themselves known, until finally he found one – a pillow that had been left on the floor of living room. With a bark and a snarl, he took of running and snatched the evil object with his teeth, and started to trash it about like a true hero.

"Yeah, he's gonna need some training." Jaune rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and went after the dog, whistling to try to get his attention, but Zwei only ran away from him while his slaughtering of the pillow intensified.

Pyrrha went after Jaune to help him corner Zwei, and Ruby made to follow too, but Yang put a hand on her shoulder and stopped her.

"Hey, Ruby. I'm sorry I was so harsh with you about Zwei earlier," Yang said quietly. "I should have listened to you more. And, uh… I'm sorry if we made you feel alone…"

Ruby shrugged. "It's alright. I'm fine being alone sometimes. Kinda the usual…"

"It shouldn't be the usual." Yang sighed. "I'm gonna try harder so this never happens again."

"Uh-uh. That's a _no_ from your team leader," Ruby said. "You know how you're always telling me to slow down? Well, you know it never works. The same goes if you try to keep up with me. Someone's gonna end up miserable." She smirked. "We're just on different speeds most of the time."

"I guess that's one way of looking at it." Yang scratched her head dubiously. "Okay. Just promise me you won't isolate yourself too much?"

"Yup! Now that we have Zwei, that won't be a problem!" Ruby said. "Actually I might have some trouble keeping up with him…"

They heard the kitchen door being slammed against a wall, then the noise of a dozen glasses shattering on the floor.

Yang pinched her forehead, while Ruby slowly stepped around her, laughing nervously.

"Oh boy…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, I forgot one thing, actually. Unlike the main stories, there won't be any extra scenes after the end. Man, isn't that a bummer? I think I'm getting kinda lazy, if I'm being honest. Would it really take that much work to-


	2. Let's talk about... punishment

"A book? Are you being serious?"

Ruby blinked at Cinder, puzzled by her reaction. "Yeah, I'm serious. It's yours until my next visit," she said. "Don't you remember you asked me for something to read last time?"

"Yes… But I was joking," Cinder said. "If anything, I was expecting you to bring me a dictionary or something. Perhaps a philosophical essay on morality and crime." She smirked. "That last one doesn't sound like your kind of humor, though."

"Yeah, my humor is way more sophisticated than that." Ruby nodded. "You like it? It's my favorite book. I had to buy a new copy because I forgot mine back in my Dad's apartment."

Cinder turned the book over and read the blurb on the back. "Very fantastical, it seems. Not that I would have expected anything less. But I'll keep from judging it until I've read it through."

"Don't worry, you're gonna love it!"

Cinder looked up from the book, eyes narrowing in wonder.

"You do realize _this_ …" She gestured around her, at the walls that were so close apart she could barely take three steps before having to turn back around, the bed that was just big enough for her to lie down straight, and the dim light on the ceiling that was kept out of her reach by a hard glass shell. "All of this, is supposed to be punishment? Having a book to read, that doesn't fit in at all with the purpose of this cell."

"Well, yeah. But it's not like I'm punishing you personally." Ruby shrugged. "I had to work hard to convince Ms. Goodwitch to let me give you this. She didn't like the idea."

"So you don't think I deserve punishment?" Cinder asked.

"Yeah, you do. You did some pretty terrible stuff, Cinder, and don't think for a second that I've forgotten that," Ruby said, crossing her arms. "But the reason we punish people and keep them in prison is to get them to see the error of their ways, right? Maybe then they can become better people. At least that's the theory."

"And you know that's just not going to happen with me," Cinder said. "Well, aren't you growing up fast…"

"Yup. Punishing you is just pointless. The real reason you're here is to keep everyone else safe," Ruby said. "No harm in giving you something to occupy your time, then. Maybe keeping you in a good mood is better for everyone, even!"

"And is that the argument you used with Goodwitch?" Cinder smirked. "You little trickster. All this talk, but you're just doing this out of the kindness of your heart, aren't you?"

Ruby got up from her seat and wiped her mouth to hide her smile.

"I don't know. You tell me, Cinder," she said. "When have I ever done anything not out of the kindness of my heart?"


	3. That time Yang saw the universe

**TALES FROM THE HUNT TOWER**

"That time Yang saw the universe"

 **Setting** : after _Ruby Rose: Scattered Petals_.

* * *

For the fiftieth time that morning, Yang coughed. Loudly. Violently. Disgustingly. This-is-the-worst-week-of-my-life-y.

Maybe that was a little dramatic. There was that week when Ruby had gone missing because she'd been captured by a bunch of robe-wearing, ritualistic-heart-stabbing Grimm worshippers. That week had sucked a lot too. Yang had gotten into a few scrapes herself then, also.

She coughed again, and the kickback almost had her falling off her stool at the kitchen counter.

Nope. That sucky week had definitely lost is sucky throne, and everyone could call her a bad sister for thinking that way.

The kitchen door opened a little, and Ruby's eyes ventured past the doorframe, as concerned as they were scared. Yang had nearly lost her temper a couple times over Ruby's constant checking on her, and now she was reluctant to even look at her for too long, as if Yang might just bite her head off or something. The guilt definitely wasn't helping Yang's recovery.

"That was a pretty bad one," Ruby said quietly.

Yang grunted in response. She looked down at her half-eaten sandwich and poked it, then pushed the plate away sulkily. Her appetite had gone the same way as her dignity as of late.

"You okay?" Ruby asked. "You look kinda like that time uncle Qrow offered you one of his drinks and you had to run to the back of the house to- well, you know." Ruby stuck her tongue out and rolled her eyes.

"Ruby, that was you. _You_ drank from Qrow's flask, and you were _twelve_ ," Yang said. "He didn't even offer. You did it just to prove that you could."

Ruby stepped into the kitchen, her hands on her hips. "And did I _not_ do that?"

"You definitely proved _something_ ," Yang said. "Probably that Dad has the patience of a saint. He didn't even yell at you."

"Because he was impressed by my unyielding tenacity," Ruby said, smiling smugly.

Yang was too sick to argue. It would be easier on both of them if she just let Ruby keep that belief.

"You're not hungry again?" Ruby asked, looking worriedly at the sandwich.

"Hmm? No, no. I'm fine," Yang said. "Just taking a break to talk to you, is all." She coughed. "Nice talk!"

Ruby looked at her suspiciously. "And your medicine?"

"Yeah, yeah, I have taken the pills, thank you," Yang said. She bit the inside of her cheek. Just thinking about those foul pills made her stomach churn. "You done with the interrogation, miss nurse?"

Ruby sighed. "Alright, I got it. Sorry for bothering you," she said. "Get to the command room when you're done eating. We're gonna do a final meeting before me and Pyrrha leave."

"Ruby, you can't keep calling the living room _the command room_ ," Yang said. "I mean, you can, but it's not gonna catch on."

" _Command room_ , five minutes," Ruby said sternly, and made her leave, her cape flying majestically as she spun around. Or it would have been majestic, if it hadn't caught on the doorknob and she hadn't had to fight to untangle it for a solid ten seconds before she finally managed to walk out of the kitchen.

Once again, Yang was left in awe of her sister's grace.

Then she coughed again, and her good humor drained away in an instant. She planted her forehead on the kitchen counter and groaned.

Damned viruses. She wished she could punch them. Then again, even if she could, she'd probably be too weak to actually do any damage. Maybe she could settle on softly blowing at them in righteous anger. That'd show them to mess with her.

She waited a couple minutes, then tossed the remains of her sandwich in the trash and walked to the living room, dragging her feet like a ghoul. She plopped down on the sofa beside Jaune, who threw a concerned glance her way before quickly looking away.

"Sup," Yang said, and sat a little straighter on the sofa when Ruby turned to look at her. "So we gonna talk Grimm-smashing or what? Where's my girl P-Money?"

"P-Money is here, reporting for duty."

Pyrrha entered the living room, clad in her metallic fighting attire. She readjusted the bracers around her wrists for a moment, then looked up at the rest of the team when she noticed how silent they were.

"I mean… _I_ am here," she said, flushing. "Pyrrha Nikos. Reporting for duty." She cleared her throat. "Feeling better, Yang?"

"Yup. Fine as a P-Money," Yang said, and made finger-guns at Pyrrha. " _If_ anyone can be as fine as this girl! Am I right, folks?"

She elbowed Jaune on his side, and he shook his head at her. "Being sick has made you very, uh… chatty, hasn't it, Yang?" he mumbled.

"You mean obnoxious," Ruby said. "And we should all know she's like that all the time."

"You're gonna regret having said when my lungs come flying out of my nostrils," Yang said.

"First off, _ew_ ," Ruby said. "Second off, let's talk mission!" She hopped back and gestured at the TV, which was _not_ turned on. "I was going to make a video presentation but I, uh… forgot, but anyway!"

"Amazing," Yang mumbled, and covered her mouth to muffle a cough.

" _Anyway_ , as I was saying!" Ruby continued. "Here's the order of business for the next few days. Pyrrha and I are gonna fly over to Mistral, 'cause the readings show that there are gonna be a lot of Grimm over there this next week. And we can never know how bad these things are gonna get, so we might be gone even longer than that."

"Maybe I should come along, then?" Jaune said. "I mean, I know that you two are our biggest powerhouses-"

"Hey!" Yang slapped his shoulder with the strength of an average-sized four-year-old.

"-but the more heads on the field, the better, right?" Jaune finished.

"True, and I appreciate the offer, but," Ruby said. "There's gonna be a big Breach in Vale the day after tomorrow, the kind regular Beacon folks can't handle by themselves. So you and Yang are staying behind to take care of it."

"Ah." Jaune rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Okay, then. Sounds like a plan."

"I do enjoy a punchy-punchy," Yang mumbled. "And a blondy-blondy together-brawl-out."

Jaune frowned. "I don't understand half of what she just said."

"Yang, if you're not better by then, you're not going with Jaune," Ruby said. "That's an order from your leader."

"I _will_ be better by then," Yang said. "The doctor said this is nothing big, remember? As long as I rest and take the icky stuff he gave me, I'll be a-okay. And hey, I'm already…" She coughed. "Fine as a P-Money."

Pyrrha looked down at herself and pouted.

" _Yang_ ," Ruby said, crossing her arms. "Promise me you're not gonna go fight any Grimm unless you're feeling one hundred percent okay. _Promise_."

"I can-" Yang cut herself short and sighed. "Okay. I promise."

Ruby stared at her for a moment, then nodded. "Good," she said. "Also, someone's gotta wash Zwei's ears. He's mad at me 'cause I've been giving him less treats, and now he won't let me take care of him."

She looked at Zwei, lying on his bed at the corner of the room, and his little ears folded on top of his head as he glared at her.

"Whatever, you big meanie. It's your problem if you grow deaf!" Ruby shouted. "Pyrrha! Let's go!"

She marched away to the elevator, and after a moment of confusion, Pyrrha waved a swift goodbye to Yang and Jaune and followed her. The elevator dinged as it arrived on their floor, and Ruby appeared again, looking around the corner.

"Oh, and Jaune," she said quickly. "Take care of my sister for me. Bye!"

She disappeared in a swirl of petals, and a few moments later, the elevator began ascending to the hangar at the roof of the Tower.

"Hm." Yang plopped down on the sofa and gazed at Jaune. "So, you're gonna take care of me, huh?"

Jaune sat awkwardly for a moment, then shrugged. "I guess that's the job for now."

"Good to know I'm nothing but a job to you." Yang sighed dramatically. "You boys are all the same. Can never appreciate what-"

She coughed, then coughed again, and the next thing she knew, she was doubled over on her side, hugging her knees against her chest.

"Stupid virus…" she whispered hoarsely.

"Do you need anything?" Jaune asked. "A glass of water, maybe?"

"No. I think I'm just gonna take a nap," Yang said.

"Okay. But if you need me, just yell. Or, uh, if you can't yell… You know what, I'm sure you can figure something out!" Jaune said. "I'll be negotiating with a terrorist."

He got up and walked over to Zwei, then crouched in front of him.

"Now listen here, you little furball nightmare. It's time for some tough love."

* * *

Yang was starting to unravel another of her sickness's terrible facets: the humiliation.

Now, it had already been embarrassing when the first signs that she'd caught something nasty started to show up. The others caught on to it pretty quick – mostly because she had hogged her and Ruby's bathroom all to herself for half a day, pretty much. And then everyone started to walk on eggshells around her, acting like she was going to fall over and turn to dust or something…

Yeah, it had been embarrassing. But it was nothing compared to being left behind. She didn't entirely buy Ruby's reasoning as to why only her and Pyrrha were going to Mistral. Surely they could have used her there with them. She might not be as skilled as Pyrrha, necessarily, but there was no doubt who came out on doubt when it came to raw power.

And if she wasn't going with them, Ruby could have at least spared her a mission elsewhere. There were always Grimm to kill. But no, here she was, left behind. Because she was weak.

Useless.

Almost as useless as Jaune was in the kitchen – a fact that could not leave her mind when she smelled the odd fragrances that were carrying over into the living room. The hissing of boiling water didn't help either.

"You, uh," Yang called out, summoning all the strength in her so her voice could be heard over in the kitchen. This was a matter of life and death, after all. "You sure you don't need help over there, Jaune? Maybe some… some guidance? Coaching?"

"It's fine! Everything's fine!" Jaune shouted back. "Don't worry about me!"

"I'm not worried, it's just that…" Yang paused for a second. "It's just that you don't know how to cook! But I do! So!"

The hissing of water lessened a bit, and Jaune came out of the kitchen, heat-protective gloves on his hands and an apron around his neck. Truly the attire of a harbinger of the apocalypse.

"It's alright, Yang. I've got everything under control, trust me," he said. "The kitchen is not going to blow up this time."

Well, how could that _not_ inspire her confidence?

"Look, Jaune. When I said I wasn't hungry, I really meant it," Yang said. "I wasn't just saying that to avoid your cooking. I wouldn't do that. Pinky swear. So if this is a pride thing…"

"It's not," Jaune said. "I'm mostly making dinner for myself, Yang. It's a bonus if you want some too." He crossed his arms. "I gotta learn to cook sometime. I love myself some instant noodles, you know I do, but I can't live on that forever."

"Ruby would object to that statement," Yang said. "I get what you're saying, Jaune. It's really admirable, actually. But don't you think it would be safer if you put off the practical learning for a little while? Maybe just until I'm in a fit condition to react to the sudden collapse of a thirty-story building?"

"Yang, I'm making soup," Jaune said. "My mother's soup, which has only healing properties. It could never bring down a building." He looked up at the ceiling, thoughtful. "I guess if you got, like, a bunch of helicopters to carry over a giant bowl of soup and poured it on the building, maybe it would fall."

He scratched his chin, entranced by the scenario.

"Jaune," Yang said. "The water's boiling."

Jaune noticed the hissing had increased again and sprinted back to the kitchen. Yang bit her lip nervously. Maybe it would be a kinder fate if her sickness took her before the floor exploded.

Luckily, she did not have to find out, as some time later, Jaune emerged from the kitchen, and she hadn't died nor had the building collapsed. But perhaps death still awaited her, she thought, when Jaune put a pot in the table between the sofa and the TV. He then brought out two bowls and filled one up for himself.

He took a spoon, and for a while, just stared at the steaming soup. He knew better than anyone how destructive his concoctions could be. And though this one appeared harmless, that didn't mean it couldn't kill a man.

Eventually, Jaune found his courage and took a sip. He was silent for a moment, smacking his lips together while a frown adorning his forehead.

"It's a little salty, I think," he said quietly. "And kinda bland. Mom's is much better. But I guess that's obvious." His eyes brightened. "I did it."

"You did?" Yang asked in wonder. "You made food that's actually edible?"

"I think so! Here, have a try!" Jaune picked up her bowl and started to fill it, only to stop after a couple spoonfuls. "I mean… If you wanna?"

Yang eyed him and the pot dubiously. She already felt awful enough eating trustworthy food. But the hopeful look on his face… Suspicious she might be, and sick as all hell, but she couldn't herself to crush him like that. She nodded, and he finished filling the bowl, then pushed it over to her side of the table.

Yang leaned forward and gingerly took the bowl. It was hot under her fingers, and the smell made her recoil – not because it was bad, not at all, it was just too much for her to take at once at the state she was in. Once she had adjusted to it, she took the spoon he offered, and carefully brought some of the soup to her lips.

"It's…" she said. "…pretty freaking good, actually."

"You really think so?!" Jaune exclaimed. "You're not just saying that, right?"

"I mean it. Maybe it's because I haven't been able to taste anything for a week now, but your soup is great," Yang said. "Good job."

He smiled at her, and Yang almost forgot she was sick.

"Well, I made a lot of it, maybe too much, so you can take as much as you want," Jaune said. "I'll make more when it runs out, too."

"Please do," Yang said, and took another big sip. "And thanks."

"You're welcome," he said. "By the way, did Ruby send you the info on the Grimm we're gonna be killing later?"

"Hmm?" Yang grudgingly lowered her spoon. "Maybe. She texted me a bunch earlier, but I didn't check my Scroll. I was busy pretending to be dead." She looked at him curiously. "Why? Should we be worried?"

"Not really. But it looks like it's gonna be a rough time," Jaune said. "Obviously we can't know what we're gonna be fighting exactly, but you know how it is. Super bad vibes, super big portal, super mean monsters." He tapped his bowl with his spoon nervously. "You, uh, you sure you're gonna be able to handle that?"

"Please. I am Yang Xiao Frickin' Long. I eat Grimm for breakfast," she said. "If you think a little virus is gonna keep me from doing my job, you've got another thing coming." She took a sip and felt her muscles loosen up as the warmth spread through her body. "Besides, with your wonder soup, I'm gonna be lifting trucks again in no time."

Jaune's eyebrows shot up. "You can lift trucks?"

"I dunno, actually. But I don't see why I couldn't." Yang shrugged. "We'll test that out later. Point is, you don't have anything to worry about. Just wait and see."

* * *

"Okay, I think the waiting part is done," Jaune said. "What was I supposed to see again?"

Yang did her best to appear angry at him, but that was hard to do when she was doubled over on the sofa with three layers of blankets hugging her like a cocoon.

"Yang, come on." He crouched next to the sofa, looking at her in concern. "You're not getting any better. You're even worse than yesterday!"

"N-not-" Yang pressed her face to the sofa and coughed, then looked up at him again, her nose running. "T-true…"

"Uhuh. I'm convinced."

Yang seethed in her cocoon. If only she had been a little quieter, he wouldn't have waken up, and everything would have carried on just fine. She was sure she would be back to normal when morning came. All she needed was time – and perseverance, lots of perseverance.

But now he was here, watching over her like some kind of mother hawk. Wait, were mother hawks _good_ mothers? Or did they eat their children like some animals did? Or did they abandon their children as babies with no clear explanation, leaving them to question their self-worth and ability to form good and lasting relationships for the rest of their lives?

Good questions for a later online research binge. Point was, she was starting to think Jaune was even worse than Ruby.

"D-don't look at me like t-that," she whimpered, dragging the edge of her blankets up to cover her mouth. "I-I'm fine. I-it's your fault I'm like this. The n-negative attitude is counteracting my awesome h-healing power."

"Doesn't seem that awesome if all it takes to defeat is one little _me_ ," Jaune said. "Yang, please start taking this seriously. I'm getting really worried here. Should I be getting you to a doctor or something?"

"No! No doctors! I already went to one and all he gave me was some stupid medicine!" Yang exclaimed. "I'm telling you, all I need is time! This virus thing is nothing I can't handle. Y-you know how my Semblance works, I take all the damage upfront and then I…"

A sneeze interrupted her, and she felt herself unable to talk afterwards, her head feeling light as a balloon.

"I don't think your Semblance can help you with this kinda thing, Yang," Jaune said sadly.

She glared obtusely at her nose. "T-then I'll just have to do all the heavy l-lifting myself…"

Jaune rubbed his eyes, as if that was the best alternative to grabbing her by the throat and shaking her. "You're almost as bad as Weiss."

"S-start comparing me to the I-Ice Queen and things are gonna get real awkward…"

Jaune got up and went to the kitchen, and returned a minute later with a glass of water and the bottle with her medicine. Yang balked when she saw the latter, and got even queasier when he dropped three pills on his palm and offered them to her. She pressed her lips together and shook her head.

"Yang…" Jaune's jaw dropped in shock. "Have you not been taking your medicine?"

Yang rolled on the couch, turning her back to him.

"Yang! No wonder you're only getting worse!" Jaune said angrily, towering over her now. "What the hell were you thinking? This could get really bad, like, you could…" He didn't finish his sentence. "Just… _why_?"

"Because it's awful!" Yang shouted, and her throat flared painfully.

"What, it's not the right flavor?" Jaune asked incredulously.

"I wasn't boasting before about my Semblance, okay?" Yang whirled around and somehow got herself to sit up, even as her whole body screamed in protest. "I don't get sick easy. It's only happened once before, and it was just as bad as this, and nothing the doctors gave me was working out, so they had to resort to the harder stuff…"

She gestured at the pills angrily.

"That kinda thing is not meant for people to take to fight the sniffles, Jaune. It's _bad_ ," she said. "It really scared Ruby."

Jaune covered the pills with his fist, and was silent for a long time, his thoughts far away.

"Okay… I get what you're saying," he said finally. "But Ruby's not here to be scared anymore. It's just me, and I can take care of you if things get bad. So you don't have to be scared either."

Yang hugged her arms, shivering under the blankets.

"Look, either you take this, and it will be scary," Jaune said, his voice hard. "Or you don't, and Ruby gets back and finds you in an even worse condition – or she _doesn't_. You really wanna do that to your sister?"

Oh, if she was at full strength, she would have sent him barreling to the Tower's first floor. Unfortunately, she wasn't, hence their conversation.

"You're stupid. And a jerk. And you have the fashion sense of a traffic cone," she mumbled. "Give me the meds."

Jaune handed her the pills and watched her put them each in her mouth, then offered her the glass of water. Yang breathed in shakily, and took a big sip. As she gulped, the fear and anxiousness exploded into new heights, and she almost cried.

"…You seem fine," Jaune said.

Yang glared at him. He didn't know a thing.

* * *

Or maybe he did. Twenty four hours later, after two more doses of the worst pills ever created in the history of Remnant, Yang was feeling… okay. Relatively. She still had slight shivers, and her head hurt like a baby elephant had stepped on it, but the coughing and sneezing had lessened somewhat. She could even stand and walk around for a while.

"You know what?" she said as they sat in the kitchen, partaking in another batch of soup, which had turned just as pleasant as the first. "I was kinda boasting before, but I think I'll actually be able to go on our Grimm-slaying adventure."

"You sure about that?" Jaune asked cautiously. "No offense, Yang, but you don't look like you're fully recovered yet."

"Yeah, I still got a ways to go, but…" She raised a finger. "We've got another eight hours to go before the Breach, right? So I'll take one more dose now, and then I'll be fit for battle."

"Well, if you're that confident…" Jaune shrugged. "But remember what you promised Ruby. You're not going unless you're one hundred percent well."

"Yup."

Feeling bold, Yang took her bottle of medicine and tossed three pills in her mouth, then swallowed them with a spoonful of soup.

"I'm gonna finish this, and then I'll take a nap to get back my strength," she said. "You wake me up when it's time to go, hear me? I gotta take a bath too, before. And get my hair in order. I stink." She fixed her eyes on him. "You _hear me_ , Jauney boy?"

"Sure, I'll wake you up," Jaune said.

"You'd better, if you know what's good for you."

* * *

"Hey. Hey, Yang. Psst!"

Yang's eyes fluttered open. She lay on her back for a moment, staring into the darkness, before she sat up and looked around.

"Jaune?" she called.

"No. Me. Down here."

Yang looked at the foot of the sofa and saw Zwei staring up at her, his ears perked up and his tail wiggling agitatedly behind him.

"I think I ate a bird, Yang," he said. "It was salty."

"Zwei?" Yang said, her voice infinitely small. "You can talk?"

"Yes, but I can't hear very well," Zwei said. "You have to clean my ears."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought Jaune did that for you already," Yang said. "Just wait a moment and I'll clean them, okay?"

"Whatever," Zwei scoffed. "I'll be in the bathroom."

With that, he stood up on his hinds legs and walked away, an indignant look on his face.

"Oh, man. I hope he doesn't keep a grudge," Ruby said, sitting beside her on the sofa. "Also, I hope he meant the bathroom as in, the bathroom, and not my room. You know he can be a little trickster sometimes."

Yang blinked. "Ruby? When did you get here?"

"I dunno. I have superspeed. If you think about it, I kinda am everywhere at once," Ruby said. She raised a hand, and a box of pizza popped into existence on it. "Here, I just got this for you. I heard anchovies are good for warding off sickness, bad feelings, and abandonment issues."

"Okay…" Yang said slowly. "Don't know why you mentioned that last part…"

Ruby shrugged, and disappeared.

"Oh, I get it now."

Suddenly, the ground shook, and Yang jumped to her feet, startled. Something gold and red passed by the living room's windows.

"The heck was that?" she asked, to no one in particular.

"It was _her_ ," Jaune whispered, hiding under the table. "She wants to have grandkids with me."

Yang's question was answered before she even asked it, as the gold and red thing reappeared outside the tower. The figure lowered itself until two giant green eyes were peering inside the apartment, like a hunter searching for its prey.

"Yang, have you seen Jaune, by any chance?" Pyrrha asked. "I want to have grandkids with him."

"Oh… I, uh…" Yang gave Jaune a glance, then smiled at Pyrrha. "Nope, sorry. Grandkids, you say? Don't you think you're moving a little too fast?"

"Well, obviously we're gonna have _kids_ first," Pyrrha said. "I thought that was obvious."

"Not really my point, but all the power to you, girl," Yang said. "Anyway, he's not here, but I hope you find him."

Pyrrha looked sad for a moment, before her mouth widened with a smile. Jaune had poked his head out for just a brief instant, yet it had been time enough for her to catch sight of him. Pyrrha took a step back and grabbed the top of the Tower, ripping it from the rest of the building.

"Sorry for the damage, Yang!" Pyrrha bellowed. She flicked the table away, then plucked Jaune off the floor and deposited him on her shoulder. "I've got to be going now, but I'll make sure to invite you to the honeymoon."

"That's really not nece– wait, did you say honeymoon?" Yang's eyes widened. "Don't you mean wedding?"

Pyrrha turned around and started walking away, crossing the city with booming steps.

"Pyrrha, wait! I am so confused!" Yang shouted after her. "Did you really mean honeymoon? Would I have to interact with Jaune? These are very important questions!"

But Pyrrha was already gone from sight, which was very peculiar considering her size.

Yang fell back on the sofa and stared up at the sky. This sure had been a wild five minutes. Or hours? She wasn't sure.

Aaaand it didn't seem like it would be getting any less wild anytime soon. As she stared at the night sky, it seemed to become darker and darker, the stars disappearing one by one, and then the moon was gone too. Only a vast seat of black remained, and it seemed to be growing closer.

Or rather, it was her that was getting closer to the sky. She had left the sofa and was flying towards the stratosphere – towards space – and the air around her was starting to burn. Or was it her?

It was her. _She_ was burning, a living comet, a shining sun in the shape of a human.

She hit the clouds, and when she came out the other side, it wasn't into space. No, she was somewhere cold now, a blizzard raging around her. She crossed the strange realm like a rocket, leaving a melted trail behind her.

And then she was in a fiery landscape. Lava flowed all around her, and flaming chucks of rock rained from the sky.

She hit the surface of a lake and barreled through it, the water making her eyes sting. A lush jungle awaited on the other side, the leaves of its trees bright as fire. Suddenly, she wasn't flying anymore, and she hit the ground on her knees.

She looked up and saw something flying towards her – a being of black wings and red eyes – closer and closer it came, until it was all that she could see – and it-

* * *

Yang sat up, screaming.

She jumped to her feet and ran to the kitchen, where she turned on the sink and threw handfuls of water in her mouth. She splashed her face, then stumbled back, leaning on the wall behind her. Her heart was pumping so fast her chest hurt.

She managed to find a chair and sit down on it, and slowly, her senses came back to her. Just as her heartbeat slowed, Jaune walked into the kitchen, a frazzled look on his face.

"Holy crap, Yang. Was that you that screamed?" he asked, rubbing his forehead. "Scared the hell out of me."

"Who else would it be? Zwei?" Yang said, and her breath hitched. "Wait, where's that dog?"

As if summoned, Zwei barged into the kitchen, panting. Yang crouched before him and held his mouth open to examine his teeth.

"No feathers," she muttered. "Good. Good."

Jaune blinked. "Do I even wanna ask?"

Yang got up and beat the dirt off her knees. "Sorry. I just had a bad dream, is all. Probably because of the stupid medicine you forced me to take."

"I didn't _force_ you to take it, but okay," Jaune said. "Speaking of. You seem to be doing better."

Yang looked down at herself and nodded. He wasn't wrong. She could still fell a tiny aftermath of the virus, but overall, she felt refreshed. Strong. Maybe even enough to lift a truck or two.

"Huh. Guess it worked, after all," Yang said. "Just in time for us to- wait, why do you have your sword?"

She had missed it before due to how agitated she'd been, but Jaune's sword was slung around his torso, its hilt peaking over his left shoulder. And he was wearing his Huntsman armor, too.

"Uh… I was… practicing?" he said.

"Jaune, what time is it?" Yang walked back to the living room and looked out the window. The sun was high up in the sky, but she could tell it would soon be coming down again. "Oh my God, did I miss the Breach? Did you go all by yourself?"

"Kinda?" Jaune said, standing behind her. Zwei came over to stand before his feet, as if to protect him from her wrath.

"You idiot, why didn't you wake me up?!" Yang exclaimed.

"I did wake you up. Don't you remember?" Jaune frowned. "You were in a really bad shape. Like, _trashing around in your sleep_ bad. There was no way you were going out to fight, so I gave you more of the medicine."

Yang balled her fists.

"You are such a… a…" She tried to find a way to express how much of an idiot she thought he was, but no word gave him justice. "We were supposed to cover each other's backs. You could have gotten seriously hurt!"

"And you _would have_ gotten seriously hurt if I had let you come with me in that state," Jaune said. "Be mad at me all you want, Yang, I'm not gonna apologize for protecting you!"

"Oh, go protect your butthole!" Yang shouted, and marched off to her room, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

After a long shower and a good bout of pacing in her room, Yang cooled down somewhat. And as the anger left her, she couldn't help but feel a tiny bit of remorse. Or a lot.

Definitely a lot of remorse.

Swallowing her pride, Yang came out of her room and went to find Jaune. He was in the living room, having discarded his sword and changed into more casual clothes. He had a controller in his hands, and his eyes were trained on the TV.

Yang sat beside him, tapping her fingers awkwardly on her lap. "Hey…"

"Hey," Jaune responded sharply, not looking at her.

"So…" She cleared her throat. "Things got a little heated before… Or, uh, I got a little heated… I shouldn't have screamed at you like that. Sorry."

Jaune didn't reply for a moment, and Yang feared making peace with him wouldn't be so easy as just offering a meager apology. She couldn't fault him for being cross at her, either. She had given him a lot of trouble over the past days, and he'd just fought a horde of Grimm all by himself because of her stubbornness.

But then his lips twitched a little, and he released a deep sigh. "It's okay. I'm not mad at you anymore."

"You're not?" Yang perked up.

"No…" He paused his game and put down the controller. "I may have overstepped a boundary, giving you those pills you hate. I figured you were just exaggerating, but you seemed pretty freaked out earlier, so…"

"Yeah, I saw… I don't know what I saw. It was some scary stuff, though," she said. "But… the pills did heal me. So, despite everything, I think taking them was worth it, and I wouldn't have done it if you hadn't convinced me. So, thanks for that."

"Still." Jaune shrugged uncomfortably. "I, uh, I used to have to take care of my little sisters a lot when there was no else home. I had to deal with a lot of snotty noses in my time, and most of them weren't very grateful for my attention." He paused. "I think I slipped into big bro mode with you. Sorry."

"I know how it is. I had to take care of Ruby too," Yang said. "It's okay. I'm glad you were there for me."

Jaune smiled at her, then resumed playing. Yang raised an eyebrow at him. Well, that had been easy. Maybe she'd been worrying over nothing.

"So, the Breach," she said. "How did it go? Got a few scrapes on you?"

"It was no biggie," Jaune said nonchalantly. "You know, just a few Beowolves. And Ursas. And those scorpion thingies, what are they called again?"

"Death Stalkers?" Yang said, humoring him with a smile.

"Yeah, those. Also Boarbatusks," he said. "Oh, and a King Taijitu."

"Wooow. And you took them _all by yourself_ , huh?" Yang whistled. "Such a brave man. You know, some people would say such a heroic act deserves a big reward. You know what I'm saying?"

Jaune fumbled with the controller, his eyes flying from the screen to her and back to the screen.

"So I'll bake you a cake!" Yang clapped her hands. "Like the wonderful sister I am!"

Jaune sighed, seeming equally relieved and embarrassed. Yang took a mental note of that. _Interesting_.

"Now, let me have a turn," Yang said, grabbing the controller off his hands.

"But I'm in the middle of a boss fight!" Jaune complained.

"Tough luck, bro," Yang said. "This girl's been at death's door for days. Time to have some fun!"


	4. Let's talk about... family

"You really don't have any siblings, though?"

Cinder sighed. "Yes, Ruby. I really don't," she said. "Why, do you think I would lie to you?"

"Uh, now that you say that, yeah, probably," Ruby said.

"Then what's the point of us talking, if you're not going to believe anything I say?" Cinder scoffed. "You're wasting your time. Not that we didn't establish that right away."

Ruby rubbed the back of her neck. Why did Cinder have to be so difficult all the time?

"I guess if you had any siblings, Beacon would probably know about it already and have it in their files, so you're probably telling the truth," Ruby said.

Cinder raised an eyebrow at her. "You're telling me you read my file?"

"Heck no. Why would I do something so boring?"

Cinder gave no response to that, probably because she had none. Or if she did, it likely wasn't very friendly. Not that that hadn't stopped her from speaking her mind in the past…

"What about your parents?" Ruby asked.

"What about them?" Cinder replied.

Ruby shrugged. "Were they good parents?"

"They were nobodies. I barely remember them," Cinder said. "Why are you so interested in my family all of a sudden?"

"I want to understand you," Ruby said. "And family is important. So…"

Cinder looked away, her eyes sharp as knives. "Not to me, it isn't. I'm afraid you'll have to reconsider your approach."

"Hmm. If you say so." Ruby pursed her lips, deep in thought. "What's your favorite ice cream flavor, then?"

Cinder pinched her forehead. "If I had to choose? Murder. With a splash of profound contempt for stupid questions."

"Right," Ruby hummed. "That was my first guess."


	5. That time Blake swept Ruby off her feet

**TALES FROM THE HUNT TOWER**

"That time Blake swept Ruby off her feet"

 **Setting:** after **Blake Belladonna: The Face of Vacuo**

* * *

"You know, Yang…" Ruby said. "There is such a thing as having _too many_ balloons in a single room." She looked around at the multicolored balloons that occupied pretty much every surface of the Tower's living room. "Actually, I'm pretty sure this is turning into a safety hazard."

"Maybe. But you know what's an even worse safety hazard?" Yang stopped hanging balloons for a moment and hopped over to her sister. "An ungrateful birthday girl."

From seemingly nowhere, Yang produced a party horn and blew it on Ruby's face, then stepped back with a smug look on her face. Ruby rolled her eyes, yet she couldn't help but smile at her sister's antics.

"Yang, it's not that I don't appreciate what you and the others are doing for my birthday-"

"Excuse me, _the others_? I'm doing most of the work," Yang said, hands on her hips. "The party would turn out a mess if I weren't overseeing everything."

Ruby thought Pyrrha and Weiss, and maybe even Blake, would have done just fine organizing the party, but she chose not to challenge Yang's ego on that front.

"Alright. I'm really grateful about everything _you're_ doing, Yang," Ruby said. "It's just that maybe you're doing _too much_ , you know?"

"I _don't_ know. I thought you liked being spoiled on your birthday," Yang said, eyes narrowing. "I remember the tantrums you used to throw when you thought you weren't getting enough attention. _Vividly_."

"That was a really, really long time ago!" Ruby puffed up her chest. "I'm getting old now, and I don't need big parties anymore."

"Trust me, tonight's party will be nothing compared to some ragers I've been to," Yang said, and pulled Ruby close, passing an arm around her shoulders and gesturing at the room. "And it's exactly _because_ you're getting old that this needs to be big. You only turn eighteen once, and from there it's all downhill – suddenly you've got gray in your hair, your back aches all the time, you start worrying you're going to die loveless and alone…"

Ruby frowned. "Jeez, Yang, you're only two years older than me."

"Don't remind me!" Yang slapped Ruby's arm lightly. "Now chin up, 'cause tonight will be the best night of your life. I'll make sure of it." She gave Ruby a kiss on the cheek. "You remember the plan, right?"

Ruby felt herself blush, and with a lump in her throat, the only way she could respond was with an anxious nod.

"'Course you do, you sly devil you." Yang winked at her, then started walking away. "I'm gonna check up on Jaune and Pyrrha in the kitchen, make sure nothing's caught on fire."

With Yang gone, Ruby allowed herself to plop down on the sofa, one of the few spaces in the living room not occupied by a balloon or bow or any such decorative piece.

Yang was right. Tonight's party would be nothing big. Though it would certainly be a step-up from her previous birthdays, which only her family ever attended, there weren't going to be that many people. Just the team, Weiss included – Yang had made sure to invite her a month prior, not allowing any room for the heiress to claim that she didn't have the time to visit.

Ruby had thought about inviting Miss Goodwitch, but figured that she would have felt out of place at such an event – and Yang would have surely objected to having an _adult_ amongst them too. So Ruby would be having lunch with her next week. That would be fun. Same story with Dad, although they hadn't worked out the exact date yet.

Penny would be attending for sure, though.

Ruby sank into the sofa. Her cheeks were burning again, and her skin felt very itchy all of a sudden. _The plan_.

Yeah, there definitely was something more to her being anxious about tonight than just feeling like she was getting too much attention…

Luckily, the beep of the elevator arriving on their floor saved her from those nerve-wrecking thoughts, and she rose from the sofa to see Weiss and Blake enter the room, plastic bags in hands.

"Hello, Ruby. We have returned from our task," Weiss said loftily. She hadn't been shy about how she felt about Yang recruiting her to help with the party, citing several times that no good host would ever demand such _arduous work_ from an invited guest. "Where's your sister, now?"

"In the kitchen," Ruby said, and turned around to shout in that direction. "Yang, Weiss and Blake are back!"

"Coming!" came Yang's response shortly after.

Ruby turned back to Weiss, smiling widely at her. Reservations about the party put aside, she was beyond excited about Weiss' presence. She'd rarely shown up at the Tower since the team had moved in, so it was a treat to have her here now.

"Are you feeling okay, Ruby?" Blake asked, stepping past her to put her bags down on a table.

"Huh?" Ruby rubbed her nose with the back of her hand and smiled at Blake. "I'm fine, why?"

"You just looked a bit flushed when we came in," Blake said. She looked Ruby up and down, then shrugged. "Must have been my imagination."

Yang emerged from the kitchen and looked over Blake's items, nodding approvingly at what she saw. She then moved over to Weiss and beckoned her to hand over her bags, and after a roll of her eyes, Weiss relented.

"Weiss, I thought I told you to get beer," Yang said, holding back a sigh. "Why did you bring wine instead?"

"No, what you _told me_ was to get _the alcohol_ ," Weiss said. "Therefore, I procured the highest quality products money can buy – at least in Vale, that is – and that turned out to be, obviously, wine."

"Alright, I did tell you to get the alcohol," Yang said. "But I thought I was being clear about what I wanted. Blake, why didn't you stop her?"

Blake gave Weiss a glance, then raised an eyebrow at Yang. "As if I could."

"She did convince me to get _some_ beer, though. Not a lot, mind you. It's in the other bag," Weiss said. " _Beer_." She grimaced, like she'd rather stick a dirty shoe in a blender and put the results in a bottle instead.

Yang shook her head at the heiress, but her protests ended there, as she crouched to inspect the contents of the second bag with higher appreciation. Seemingly satisfied that there would be no greater conflict, Blake moved to the sofa and sat down to read a book.

"I don't get it," Ruby said, looking at Weiss in puzzlement. "I thought you said earlier that you don't drink, Weiss. So what's all the fuzz?"

"I don't consume any kind of alcohol," Weiss said, and her eyes didn't meet Ruby nor anyone else's in the room. A moment later, she seemed to notice the silence and cleared her throat. "But I still know how to recognize quality."

"Huh." Ruby put her hands behind her back and leaned towards Weiss. "Is that why you consider me your bestest friend in the world, then?"

Weiss scoffed at her, though the corners of her lips did quirk up a bit.

"Alright, this isn't much, but I guess it will be good enough for tonight," Yang said, rising to her feet.

"It's probably best everyone doesn't drink too much, anyway," Weiss noted. "We wouldn't want a crisis to happen and for half the team to be compromised, yes?"

"Weiss, why would you say something like that? You just jinxed everything!" Yang exclaimed. "Now it's only a matter of time until-"

Before she could finish her sentence, an alarm started to ring across the apartment. Ruby jumped to attention, while Yang turned to Weiss with a fist half-raised – but then the alarm stopped and Jaune poked his head out of the kitchen, his nose and cheeks powdered white.

"Uh, sorry about that," he mumbled. "We had a little accident with the oven. Yang, help us out, please?"

"Coming." Yang pointed at finger at Weiss. "You're on my short list, lady."

Yang left for the kitchen, and Weiss excused herself to her room.

Ruby wiped her forehead and sighed. For a moment there, while the alarm sounded, she'd almost felt relieved that the party was going to have to be called off. It was a sad day when she found fighting Grimm an easier prospect than…

Well, just thinking about the other thing was starting to make her anxious again, so she chose not to – and so the hour of her doom ticked ever nearer…

* * *

Blake put her bottle down for a moment and leaned back on her stool, observing the ongoing party from a comfortable corner of the room. Things were certainly lively, though not so much that she was uncomfortable.

Yang was being her usual cheerful self, jokes and japes abound and amplified by the drinks she'd already downed. Jaune was following her lead, and to Blake's surprise, he was holding his own fairly well. Sometime earlier, they had made an unspoken agreement to focus their antics on Weiss, but to her credit, she wasn't giving them the satisfaction they wanted.

Pyrrha was more subdued, though she wasn't shy at all. In fact, her cheeks were getting a little red, and she seemed to be sticking closer to Jaune the longer the night went on. Not that he noticed it in the slightest. Blake wanted to reach across the room and punch him in the neck, but that wouldn't have been very subtle.

Lastly, there was Penny. If she was being honest, Blake didn't know what to think of the girl, except that she was a little weird – which was saying a lot, with the company she kept. Though she supposed some weirdness was to be expected, what with Penny being a robot. That she could pass off as a normal human girl at all was a testament to her… design?

Blake rubbed her forehead. Her life was weird. And she needed another drink.

She leaned over to grab her bottle from the floor, only to notice Ruby coming out of the hallway. Blake sat back up and leaned back against the wall, watching from the corner of her eyes as her team leader hovered at the edge of the party, wringing her hands at her waist.

Ruby hadn't been _absent_ from the party, not exactly. It was _her party_ , after all. But Blake had noticed that she hadn't been in the thick of things, so to speak, choosing instead to hang just outside the spotlight, stealing brief one-on-one conversations with the others and withdrawing before anything more could take place.

She talked with everyone at least once, except for Penny. Which was intriguing, Blake thought, considering that Penny was there _because_ she was Ruby's friend. Very intriguing, indeed.

Blake started to think that perhaps she should call Ruby close and ask her about it, but before she could put thought to action, Yang parted from the others and walked briskly over to Ruby, eyes glinting with delight.

"There she is," Yang said, rubbing her hands like a mischievous imp. "Tonight's girl. You ready and set to go, sis?"

"Uh… I'm not sure," Ruby said awkwardly, taking a small step backward, about to retreat into the hallway again. "You know, maybe I need to fix myself up a bit more, just to make sure-"

"No, no. You're perfect as you are," Yang said, cupping Ruby's cheeks. "You know you're perfect, right?"

Ruby looked away. "I guess…"

"That's right, you are. _But_ ," Yang leaned in to whisper to Ruby, and if Blake weren't a faunus, she would have missed that part of the conversation. "You sure you wanna go forward with the plan? Because, Ruby, you can always pull out if you're not up to it."

Yang sounded understanding, but she _looked_ so hopeful and excited that even Blake didn't want to disappoint her, and she didn't even understand what the hell was going on. Ruby clearly felt the pressure too, though it seemed Yang didn't notice it.

"I-I'm good…" Ruby nodded. "I can do this. I'm gonna do this!"

"That's the spirit." Yang patted Ruby on the back and pushed her towards the party. "Go get 'er, tiger."

Ruby took a few hesitant steps forward, paused for a moment, then continued with new strength. Blake sipped her beer, watching with great interest.

* * *

Ruby approached the center of the room, stopping quietly near the couch and chairs that everyone but Yang and Blake were occupying. The conversation was lively, with Penny as the center of attention, which Ruby wasn't at all surprised by. It wasn't every day that you met a robot girl, so some curiosity was to be expected.

Jaune in particular seemed fascinated by Penny, like she was a character who had jumped straight out of a comic book. Luckily, she didn't seem bothered by his enthusiasm, in fact, she seemed happy to answer all his questions. Ruby let herself rest easy – or as easy as she could rest under the circumstances.

"Is it true that you can fly?" Jaune said. "Like, as fast as a jet? You could cross a whole ocean, right? Ruby told me something like that once, I think."

"Yes to all your questions, Jaune Arc," Penny said proudly. "Although recently, with new upgrades pertaining to my energy output and thrusters, I've been able to surpass my original speed benchmarks. If necessary, I can break the sonic barrier, although that is not recommended due to possible damage to nearby living creatures and the surrounding environment. It would be very foolish for me to do so in a city setting, for example." She giggled. "Also, it makes my shoulders a bit creaky for some period of time afterward. I always choose to go slower if I can afford to."

"Like the opposite of someone we know," Pyrrha said, grinning at Ruby.

"Oh, Ruby is still much faster than me overall! She has better maneuverability, and her Semblance doesn't require nearly as much energy to maintain as my flight," Penny said. She looked up, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "However, I imagine she must intake a lot of proteins to keep herself so powerful."

"Is that true?" Jaune looked at Ruby doubtfully. "I thought you just liked to eat a lot."

"Well, one thing doesn't cancel the other," Ruby said sheepishly.

"Guess chocolate cookies must be great Semblance fuel, then," Jaune said. "I should start eating those more. Maybe I could turn into an invulnerable tank!"

Penny giggled. "You are funny, Jaune Arc. All of you, Ruby's friends, are as lovely as she relayed to me," she said. "Even you, Miss Schnee."

She smiled at Weiss, who replied with an expression that, if Ruby were being generous, she would describe as impassive.

"So, let me get this straight," Weiss said. "General Ironwood had you built by a team of engineers?"

"Only one engineer, my father," Penny said. "He is great!"

"Mhmm. And you were built to… protect the world?"

"That is my prime directive, yes." Penny nodded eagerly.

"Which is why you were sent to spy on Ruby." Weiss crossed her arms. "And you've got a Dust Core in your chest. The same technology that Cinder Fall used to nearly destroy Vale, and that Beacon regulates like they're weapons of mass destruction. Am I correct?"

Penny studied Weiss for a moment, as if analyzing the possible intent behind her words.

"Correct on all counts, Miss Schnee," Penny said, and smiled again. "I assure you, I keep my Dust Core safe like my life depends on it. Which it absolutely does! If I were a real girl, my Dust Core would be my heart, and those are fundamental to uninterrupted living and breathing."

Weiss didn't appear too satisfied with that response, looking at Penny with icy eyes, and Ruby rubbed her arms worriedly. She understood why Weiss would be uneasy around Penny, what with her history with Dust Cores, but that attitude was very unfair to Penny – Weiss might know _what_ she was, but she had no idea _who_ Penny was.

Luckily, Weiss let the topic go at that, sitting back in her chair and looking longingly at the empty glass she'd kept nearby since the evening's start. Ruby perked up, recognizing a chance to make her move with the lull in the conversation… But as soon as she opened her mouth, she suddenly felt all of her confidence drain away, and she drew back in silence.

"So anyway, Penny," Jaune said. "I heard you can shoot lasers?"

Ruby smacked herself in the cheek. What was she doing? This was her opportunity, the moment she'd been planning for with Yang for days, she couldn't just let it pass because she felt nervous!

"Actually, can I borrow Penny for a second, guys?" Ruby said, hopping closer to the couch. "I wanna talk to her about something."

"But, but… Lasers, Ruby," Jaune said sadly. "Can't you talk to her here?"

Ruby opened and closed her mouth awkwardly, while Penny gave her a curious look. She _could_ talk to Penny right now and right there, technically speaking, nothing was stopping her, but…

"I think Ruby wants to talk to Penny _alone_ , Jaune," Pyrrha said gracefully. "Understand?"

"Huh?" Jaune glanced at Ruby and Penny, then coughed and looked away. "R-right. Sorry, I'm a bit slow with that stuff."

"Yes, we are all aware," Weiss said dryly from her chair.

Grateful for Pyrrha's intervention, Ruby gestured to Penny and moved away from the group. Penny followed her, and they stopped near the windows, which gave a beautiful view of nightly Vale from above.

The plan had been to take Penny somewhere more private, but just thinking about talking with Penny in her room was inviting in a miniature nervous breakdown, so this would have to do instead. It was kinda awkward to do this in view of everyone, but…

Wait, where was everyone? Ruby looked back at the room, startled to see the entire team was gone. How had they disappeared so fast? This had to be Yang's work, that devil-

"Are you wondering where your friends have gone?" Penny asked, hands behind her back. "I believe they've moved to the kitchen. I can hear them talking about a cake."

"O-oh. C-cake, yeah, that's an important part of any b-birthday," Ruby said. "Do you, uh, do you like cake, Penny?"

"Well, the act of eating cake would be very harmful to my internal hardware, but I would likely enjoy the taste if I were to run a simulation!" Penny said.

"R-right! How silly of me, f-forget I said that!" Ruby swallowed dry. "S-sorry if I'm s-stuttering too bad. I'm awful…"

"I can understand you perfectly, friend, please do not worry about it," Penny said. "So, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about away from the presence of your closest friends and family?"

Penny leaned forward slightly, and Ruby was once again startled by how human-like Penny could act sometimes. Other people might not notice it, but she was a far cry from the strange girl Ruby had met six months ago. It might not even be an act anymore, especially when it was just the of them talking.

Yeah, Penny was definitely becoming more human. She was looking at Ruby like she knew exactly what she wanted to say, but instead of helping her out, she was just waiting, and with a hint of anxiousness on her own face too. A complete robot would act way more straightforwardly than this, surely!

"I, uh… You s-see," Ruby said, her mind going blankly. Yang had helped her pick out the right words in a way to show Penny how she felt, but those seemed to have vanished from her memory now.

Penny frowned, and Ruby took a step back, feeling herself starting to shake all over. God, this was not going to work out. What she was doing? How had she allowed things to get to this point? This had all been a terrible idea, and she needed to go…

"Ruby, I detect you are in great distress," Penny said. "Should I call your sister?"

Ruby shuddered. Perhaps Penny should call a doctor instead, because she was about to _faint_.

Out of nowhere, an arm snaked around her shoulders, and Ruby felt someone leaning into her. Ruby looked to the side and was startled to find Blake there.

"Hey, there," Blake said, raising her other hand, the one not on Ruby's shoulder. She had a half-empty beer in it, which she took a quick sip from, before she spoke again. "Can I take Ruby away from you for a quick sec, Penny? I need to give her her birthday present."

"Oh." Penny blinked. "Yes, that is fine. No problem here."

"Thanks." Blake took another sip, then dropped her bottle entirely.

Blake tried to pull Ruby away, but she was still frozen in distress from the earlier conversation. Blake inspected her dully for a moment, then shrugged and crouched a little, striking the back of Ruby's knees and knocking her out, only to catch her in her arms as she fell.

Blake stood back up and met Penny's eyes, and for a good ten seconds, they just stared at each other in sheer silence.

"Sorry," Blake said finally. "I have a thing for redheads."

She walked away without another word, carrying Ruby in her arms bridal style.

* * *

Blake dropped Ruby on her bed unceremoniously, gave her a swift once-over, then walked back to the door of her room and closed. After some hazy consideration, she locked it and turned around, pressing her back against the wooden surface.

She looked at the bed and raised an eyebrow at Ruby, noticing that she had crawled into the corner and was looking at Blake like she was about to jump across the room and bite off her head.

"You okay there, Ruby?" Blake said.

Ruby opened her mouth to talk, but only a distressed squeak came out. Blake took a step towards the bed, and Ruby jumped in fright.

"A-are you going to have your way with me?!" Ruby shrieked. "Is that my birthday present?!"

Blake grimaced. She really wished the others hadn't heard that from the kitchen, Yang in particular.

"I'm not going to have my way with you, Ruby." Blake paused. "Unless you want me to?"

"N-no, I don't!" Ruby squealed. "I mean, not that you're not, you know, and I wouldn't, but-"

"I'm just messing with you," Blake said, grinning. "I actually have your birthday present here. Wait a second while I get it."

Blake opened her wardrobe and crouched to retrieve a box from the bottom. Yang had warned everyone that Ruby really liked receiving birthdays gifts, and she had a terrible habit of finding and opening them before the appropriate time. Blake had assumed she'd been exaggerating at first, but when Ruby turned up at the breakfast table earlier in the week with a stack of comics Jaune was _going to_ give her, Blake thought twice about it and hid her gift better.

She opened the box, pushed aside an assortment of black fabrics, and retrieved the wrapped item hidden beneath. Standing up, Blake walked over to the bed and handed the gift over silently.

Ruby stared up at Blake, still suspicious of a surprise attack, before her excitement got to her and she tore apart the package to reveal a stack of three books.

"Ooh! Books!" Ruby smiled. "I love books!"

"I know," Blake said. "These are some of my favorites. I think you'll enjoy them very much."

"Thanks, Blake!" Ruby leaned over to give Blake a hug, then settled back into the bed. "Why are you giving me my gift now, though? You could have done it earlier, or waited to do it with everyone else."

"I had a feeling you might need help getting away from things tonight," Blake said. And she had been right. Ruby had looked about ready to pass out in the living room.

Ruby was silent for a moment, studying the books' covers, though Blake could tell that was not what she was really thinking about. Blake climb onto the bed and dragged herself over to the other end of it, leaning against a wall.

"You can hide in here for a while if you want," Blake said.

"Don't you wanna get back to the party?" Ruby asked softly. "I don't wanna keep you here…"

"I like the quiet," Blake said. "Also, I might have had a couple beers too many."

Ruby giggled. Blake closed her eyes, hearing the soft rustling of pages as Ruby started one of her new books.

* * *

Weiss flicked her finger on the edge of her glass. She gave a sideways look towards where Yang and Jaune were hanging out and groaned quietly. Could they be any louder and more scandalous? They were bad enough normally, but with the added boost of alcohol they were intolerable. Another hour of this and Weiss might just be forced to commit a heinous crime.

She looked at her glass again. Wouldn't _that_ make things so much easier…

Weiss heard a squeaking of shoes, and when she looked up, she saw Pyrrha sitting down in a chair in front of her. She had one of the wine bottles Weiss had bought in one hand, with a glass full of its content in the other.

"This is good stuff, Weiss," Pyrrha said. "You weren't lying when you said you have a good eye for these things."

"Of course I wasn't lying," Weiss said, allowing herself some degree of smugness. "I'm glad you appreciate my contribution. _Someone_ has to."

"I haven't had much experience with alcoholic drinks, to be honest. The Beacon lifestyle didn't really give me room for this sort of thing," Pyrrha said. "But now things are different. And I'm happy to say that, between yours and Yang's, I much prefer your taste."

Pyrrha raised her glass a bit and took a sip. Weiss smiled at her, and took a moment to look at Yang and Jaune, the latter in particular.

"Got tired of waiting for him to get the hint?" Weiss asked.

Pyrrha flushed mid-sip, but to her credit, she managed to swallow her drink without an incident. She put her glass down on her lap and looked towards Jaune.

"I guess," Pyrrha said tiredly, like she had competed in a ten-mile marathon and placed dead last. "Maybe I've been clinging too much."

"I think the problem's with him, Pyrrha. You can't help it that Jaune's this oblivious. It's egregious, really," Weiss said. "Although, I suppose there's a problem with you too, now that I think about it."

"What do you mean?" Pyrrha asked, frowning.

"I just can't see why you would try so hard for him, of all people. Personal issues aside, if you keep throwing yourself at him and he won't even look at you twice, then what's the point?" Weiss said.

"Maybe you have a point," Pyrrha sighed. "But I don't feel about anyone else the way I feel about him. So I can't exactly stop trying, not until he gives me an answer, or I stop feeling that way. It's just not in my nature."

Weiss groaned. "I don't get it. You could choose anyone in the world. Why him?"

"Because it's not a choice. And Jaune's a great guy, and he's my best friend. Even if he rejected me, I would still want to be near him," Pyrrha said, sitting up confidently.

Weiss shrugged. Far be it for her to argue with Pyrrha about her feelings. And she had to admit, Jaune wasn't the _worst_ person in the world. And that was the best compliment she was willing to give him at the moment.

"Do you want some?" Pyrrha said, gesturing at the wine bottle.

"No, thank you," Weiss said. "I don't drink."

"Why do you have a glass, then?"

Weiss sank into her chair. That was a great question, now wasn't it?

"Is there some reason you don't drink, Weiss?" Pyrrha asked.

Weiss' snappy response came almost immediately, though luckily, she managed to hold herself back. Hearing the same question from so many people over the years had conditioned her to answer a certain way, politely at best, coldly most often, and never truthfully.

But she supposed it was different with Pyrrha. She could tell it wasn't mere curiosity that drove the question. Maybe it was wishful thinking, maybe it was Pyrrha using the techniques she'd learned with Beacon to manipulate her, but Weiss felt she could trust her with the truth.

"My family doesn't have a good track record with alcohol," Weiss said, measuring her words carefully. "My parents never got along too well. My father's… He's not a very kind man, and after a while my mother stopped trying to make things work with him. But they didn't separate, _of course_. So instead she turned to drinking. Eventually, she started spending more time with her bottles than her own children."

"I'm really sorry, Weiss," Pyrrha said. "That must have been terrible as a kid."

"It's okay. We were never that close," Weiss said. "She was weak. Instead of trying to fix the problems in her life, she chose to drown them in scarlet. I swore to never act that way. I'm better than that."

Pyrrha nodded. Weiss leaned back, releasing a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

"I understand how you feel, and I don't doubt your resolve," Pyrrha said. "But _this_ is just fun." She pointed at her glass. "Simple fun, nothing more. If you are strong – and you are – then you should be able to partake without being defined by it, right?"

Weiss crossed her arms uncomfortably. "I suppose you make a good point." She leered at the bottle, then sighed and extended her glass.

"You don't have to," Pyrrha said. "This really isn't important at all, Weiss."

"I understand." Weiss nodded. "Go ahead."

Pyrrha waited a moment to make sure, then filled Weiss' glass to half-capacity. Weiss held it close to her nose, and the familiar smell provoked a slight shudder. She breathed in deeply, and finally, like an athlete making the jump of a lifetime, she tipped the glass over and took the drink in.

"…Is that it?" she said, almost disappointed.

"You didn't like it?" Pyrrha asked.

"No, it was good," Weiss said. "I don't know what I was expecting."

She took another sip, this time letting the taste linger in her mouth for a while before she swallowed. She licked her lips and looked at the glass, a smile coming to her lips.

This wasn't so bad, after all.

* * *

Ruby lowered her book so she could look at Blake. She was liking the book well enough, but she was finding it difficult to follow the plot. Her thoughts were still with the celebration going on outside, and Penny in particular.

"Blake?" Ruby called softly, not wanting to wake up her friend in case she was sleeping.

Blake opened her eyes slightly.

"Can I ask you a question?" Ruby said. "It might be kinda personal, just so you know."

Blake stretched her arms above her head, arching her back off the wall behind her, then turned to look at Ruby. "Ask it."

"Have you…" Ruby trailed off, thinking how to best to frame her question. She wasn't even sure what she wanted to know, really. "Have you ever been in a relationship?"

If Blake was surprised by the question, she didn't show. "Not really."

"Oh." Ruby looked at her lap, not sure where to go from there.

Blake turned around, sitting cross-legged facing Ruby, and stared at her in her usual silent way. Ruby could never be sure whether Blake was analyzing her with those stares, or she was thinking of something else altogether, or just not thinking of anything at all.

"What made you ask that question?" Blake asked.

"I'm not sure. I wanted to see if you could help me, but I guess you can't," Ruby said. "Sorry."

"Well, I can't promise you expertise, but I can try to help anyway," Blake said. "I may never have been in a relationship, but that doesn't mean I don't know a thing or two about romance. I've been the _piner_ and the _pinee_ a couple times in my life."

"I don't think those are real words," Ruby mumbled.

"And I think you're stalling." Blake shrugged. "You wanna talk about Penny?"

Ruby blushed. "W-what is there to talk about? She's, uh, she's cool, yeah…

"Obviously. She's a freaking robot," Blake said.

"She's more than just a robot!" Ruby said. "That's not why I – that's not why she's my best friend."

"Sorry, that was insensitive of me," Blake said. Her eyes narrowed. "What was the _plan_ tonight, by the way?"

Ruby paled. How did Blake know about that? She must have overheard her and Yang talking earlier. Curse those fuzzy cat ears!

"I was… I was going to get Penny alone during the party…" she said, feeling herself grow redder with every word. "And then I was going to tell her how I feel about her… AndthenIwasgoingtomaybekissheralittlebitandaskherifshewantedtobemygirlfriendorsomething."

Blake blinked. It was unclear whether she had been able to follow the last step of the plan.

"The last part was all Yang's idea," Ruby said defensively, just to make sure.

"Sounds like a solid plan," Blake said, remarkably collected. "And the problem was…?"

"The problem was… I d-don't actually know how I feel about Penny. I don't really _understand_ ," Ruby said, getting even more flustered. "Plus, the more I think about – you know – the more worried I get about stuff. Like, I'm a big superhero, how does that work out with her? And she doesn't really age like I do, so…? Besides, we don't really see each other all that often. And, and what if I'm not good enough and I screw things up and she hates me forever and ever-"

Blake raised a finger, and Ruby stopped talking immediately, prepared to be consoled.

"All your worries are valid," Blake said.

Ruby did a double take. "Huh?"

"I said, all your worries are valid," Blake repeated simply. "Love's complicated. You never know what might happen. It might very well be that one of those things you're worried about would ruin a relationship with Penny, or plain make it impossible."

"I… That doesn't make me feel better," Ruby grumbled.

"That's reality," Blake said. " _But_ , you will never find out if you don't take a risk."

"So I _should_ confess to Penny?" Ruby said, her brain about to overload with conflicting information.

"I can't tell you what to do, Ruby." Blake sighed. "It's up to you to decide if you wanna take that leap or not. There's not a right answer. If there is one, I haven't heard about it."

Ruby sat back and crossed her arms. She couldn't deny that what Blake was saying made sense, but she really wished she'd had a simpler, definitive answer for her.

"Do… do you have someone you'd like to be with, Blake?" Ruby asked shyly.

Blake looked at the ceiling, a hint of bitterness coloring her face, and Ruby worried that she might have touched upon something Blake would rather not talk about.

"Yes," Blake said finally, dragging the word out like it was painful.

"Uhm… So if you had the chance, would you try and confess to them?"

"I already did, in a way," Blake said, and when she noticed Ruby's expectant expression, added, "It didn't work out."

"Oh. That's too bad."

That didn't bode well for Ruby's prospects. She knew she shouldn't take Blake's one experience as gospel, but it was a pretty discouraging thing to hear about.

"I would do it all over again, though, if I could," Blake said. "Just on the off chance that things might turn out differently."

Ruby looked at Blake critically. "You're not just saying that to give me hope?"

Blake shook her head. "So," she said. "What are you going to do?"

* * *

"I'm sorry, Ruby," Yang said. "Penny had to leave."

Ruby frowned. "She… had to leave?"

"Yeah. She said something came up, and General Ironwood called her back to Atlas to deal with it. Apparently, he was being a real jerk about it too. She looked really bummed out about it."

Ruby could definitely relate to that.

"But, hey, she asked me to tell you that she wanted to work out a day to visit and make it up to you," Yang said. "You know, kinda like a date. Also, she left her present with me to give to you-"

"Wait, did she actually say the word date?" Ruby blinked. "Like, _date_ , date?"

"Hmm, no, I'm embellishing," Yang said. "Sorry."

Ruby sighed. But she couldn't be too disappointed. Even if Penny didn't mean that kind of date, Ruby would still love to spend some time with her in the near future. A day spent with Penny was always great.

"You'll get her next time," Yang said, patting her on the shoulder. "Now, how about we get to the cake part of the night to cheer you up? And then we can open your presents."

Ruby's face lit up immediately. "I do like getting spoiled!"

"Alright! Just, uh, word of warning, watch out as you're entering the kitchen," Yang said.

"Why…?"

"Weiss puked on the doorway."

"Oh."

"Yeah, we're not letting her forget that one."

* * *

Blake walked across the living room on her way to the kitchen, making sure to step lightly as she passed the knocked-out Yang splayed over on the sofa, and Jaune, who had somehow been comfortable enough to fall asleep on the floor underneath a chair.

She reached the kitchen and went inside, closing the door quietly behind her. Blake flicked on the lights – and nearly jumped out of her skin when she saw there was someone else inside already.

"Blake?" Ruby looked up at her, nearly every inch of skin from her chin to her nose covered in strawberry cake. "Why are you still up?"

Blake breathed out heavily, holding her chest as her heartbeat evened out. "I was waiting for everyone to fall asleep so I could eat some of that cake in peace," she said. "Why are _you_ still up?"

"This cake is _really good_ ," Ruby said simply, and returned to eating her current slice voraciously.

Blake shook her head and grabbed herself a plate. There wasn't much cake left, but she managed to scavenge two modest slices, and left the rest for Ruby to finish later.

"How did it work out with Penny, then?" Blake asked, sitting down near Ruby.

"Oh, she had to leave while we were in your room," Ruby said. "But it's okay. She's gonna come by again someday soon."

"I'm sure you'll have better luck then," Blake said.

"Eh. I don't think I'm even gonna try anything." Ruby shrugged. "I'm happy just spending time with my best friend."

Blake nodded. She could relate to that feeling, when you can just be with someone so close to you, without things getting complicated. _Before_ things inevitably get complicated.

She forked a piece of her cake and munched on it. Ruby was right, it was excellent.

"Hey, Blake…" Ruby said. "Since I told you so much personal stuff today, I guess you can tell me who's that person you were talking about earlier, right? Your crush? I mean, it's only fair."

"But _you_ were the one who started that whole debacle. As I see it, I don't owe you anything," Blake said.

"Aw." Ruby pouted. "Can I guess?"

Blake gestured emptily. It's not like she could make Ruby forget about the topic. The best Blake could do was humor her a bit.

"Hmm… Is it a girl?" Ruby asked.

"Yes."

"Ahah! And she must be a redhead, right?" Ruby said knowingly. "Unless you were just messing around when you said that thing before."

"I _was_ messing around, but yes."

"The pieces of the puzzle are coming together. Your secret crush must be…" Ruby jumped to her feet on her chair. "Pyrrha!"

Blake chuckled. Ruby had missed her mark by a couple months. "No, she's much shorter than Pyrrha."

"Oh. Shorter, much shorter than Pyrrha… And a redhead…" Ruby's eyes widened. "Wait, you don't actually like _me_ , Blake?"

Blake sighed. "Ruby, you don't know her."

Ruby sat down, disappointed. She ate a bit more of her cake, then looked at Blake again. "Maybe one day I'll get to meet her, though?"

Blake finished her first slice in silence, then smiled at Ruby. It hurt to foster hope, especially about something so precious to her heart, but Ruby had inspired her tonight.

"Absolutely."


	6. Let's talk about... love

"Hey, Cinder," Ruby said. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"All you _do_ is ask me personal questions. And you've never asked permission before." Cinder rolled her eyes. "I can only assume you're feeling strange about this particular question. Correct?"

Ruby raised her hands, guilty as charged.

"Have you ever been with someone?" Ruby asked fast, like ripping off a band-aid.

Cinder looked at her skeptically. "What exactly do you mean, have I been with someone?"

"Like…" Ruby twirled her finger on her thigh awkwardly. "Have you ever had a boyfriend or girlfriend…?"

"No. Finding love has never been a priority of mine, as you might imagine," Cinder said. Her eyes narrowed. "Why do you look so surprised?"

"I – I _don't_! I'm completely – I was expecting that answer, exactly that answer!" Ruby said.

Cinder raised an eyebrow at her.

"It's just…" Ruby swallowed dry. "You're a supervillain, so I thought…"

"Oh, I see. _That's_ what you want to know," Cinder said, smirking. "Ruby Rose, are you trying to _imply_ something?"

"I… You're making stuff up in your mind! My question was very simple and straight-forward and it had no hidden meanings!" Ruby exclaimed. "…But seriously, not even once?"

Cinder leaned back, crossing one leg over the other.

"Loving someone is nothing but a weakness. It will consume your time and take your focus away from the important things, and create vulnerability where there should be none," Cinder said icily. "I am above such things as love."

"I don't know," Ruby said. "To me, that just sounds like a sad, lonely way to live."

Cinder scoffed. "Yes, because it is a lack of love that hurts people. Has _that_ been your experience?"

Mystified by that response, Ruby could only stare at Cinder. Behind the glass wall, Cinder shook her head and gestured at Ruby.

"Should I turn the question around on you, then?" the villain proposed.

"Uh, no, please," Ruby said. "That's gonna lead to a very awkward conversation."

"Ah, and we wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable," Cinder said. "Now, please, do continue to prod me for intimate details about my life."


End file.
